I've had to deal with a lot of crap over the years due to idiots on the net. The most recent due to gullible people buying into things they read on the net without critical thinking. Every comments section is filled these losers who regurgitate crap they read somewhere with no inkling of the reality of the topic. People like that do that not just because they're idiots (and they are) but also because they're pathetic. They think of people in the abstract as if we are just characters in some meta game.

You can't reason with them. I've made that mistake in the past, even recently. The best thing to do is ignore them (or alternatively, ridicule them). But in real life, every one I've met in person was driven not by envy but out of a total lack of sense. They're just sad creatures. But I don't pity them. They choose to be malicious.

i liked how the author dealt with the situation. every time I see some commenter on some site regurgitate some hateful thing about me or my friends I picture some snotty kid like in the article.

In the exact same circumstances I would have knee-capped him and slit his nostrils.

The ashes and Auschwitz reference was one wee step too far.

I don't frequent Facebook...and have never 'twittered'.

I know I "should" get to Facebook sometime as there are messages wishing we Happy Birthday, etc. but the very existence of this sort of behaviour on outlets which are really so poorly policed simply leaves me cold.

but the very existence of this sort of behaviour on outlets which are really so poorly policed simply leaves me cold.

That, and all the privacy security concerns... the fact that Facebook is among the least trustworthy sites on the net, and its failure in the financial world [stock market] is probably an indicator of just that... the fact that its CEO is greedy jumped up prick.

Sorry about the troll-like hijack just to vent... but I just needed to vent.

The man and the adolescent's parents dealt with it in a great way...one which wouldn't work for most as they usually live at a great distance and do not know each other.

Menacing is inexcusable. The ashes and Auschwitz... well. That is an existential threat for everyone, since what happened at Auschwitz could and would have happened to other groups of people had not the sick perpetrators been brought, at great price, to their well deserved end.

The sad fact is that we all face these people everyday, whether we know it or not. They must be dealt with. Ignoring them or demonstrating their idiocy is not enough if threats are made and the troll is not known. His/her identity must be found and the police involved. These trolls must be made to understand they are not free to threaten others, nor make living unbearable.

I just ignore idiots like that...they really hate that. And if anyone asks why your not responding...just tell them you have an app that can block them from view and you didn't know they were doing anything...talk about pissed off.

I just ignore idiots like that...they really hate that. And if anyone asks why your not responding...just tell them you have an app that can block them from view and you didn't know they were doing anything...talk about pissed off.

I've met very, very few actually bad people in my life. Sadly, not zero, but very few. Most of the people who spout vitriol of any type seem to do it out of three motivations: people who think they can gain by tearing me down, people who don't know about a subject and aren't taking the time to learn, and people who are bored with their lives. I'd say the young man in that story falls into the third (overly broad, incredibly simplistic, and likely unfair) category. The anonymity of the internet seems to feed the first not at all, the second somewhat, and the third completely. I'm sorry anyone has to deal with this kind of stuff; Leo, Brad, or myself. My way handling it, Brad, is that I feel that this is the price for having strong opinions that have enough merit to them to be worth discussing. And it's not just the internet that produces this behavior. It's any opportunity to be anonymous, whether behind a keyboard, a lawyer, or a corporation.

Thankfully I lost my faith in most of humanity at a very young age. Thus I have never operated under the assumption that most people are more then deranged sock puppets, so I don't care what most people think and have no problem either ignoring trolls, laughing at them, or manipulating them.

I can't be the only one who knows and has always known real-life trolls. There's always been at least a couple anywhere I've worked. Heck, sometimes I can agree with someone because what he/she has said is indeed correct, and then they will start arguing with me. Or, everything must be taken to the next level or debated, nothing is just A-B-C. Huge time-wasters.

I dare say it's not just the internet, but the internet would sure facilitate them.

There are trolls, and then there's trolls. The first kind are people who just seek to amuse themselves by writing off topic and annoying comments. The second are the kind that tear others down just because they're bored and want to make others angry.

The internet supports the second very well, while the first is no different than the average lunchtime conversation. (Those can get very strange, believe me...)

You can't reason with them. I've made that mistake in the past, even recently. The best thing to do is ignore them (or alternatively, ridicule them). But in real life, every one I've met in person was driven not by envy but out of a total lack of sense. They're just sad creatures. But I don't pity them. They choose to be malicious.